Scientific Uncertainty: An Insuperable Obstacle to Compensation for Environmental Causes of Ill Health?

Chris Miller
Additional contact information
Chris Miller: School of Environment & Life Sciences, University of Salford, Salford, M6 6PU, UK

Energy & Environment, 2000, vol. 11, issue 2, 193-205

Abstract: In this paper, I review the conceptual and legal obstacles faced by those who seek redress for health detriment which is though to be environmental in origin. I use two case studies concerned with radiation: one is related to energy production (paternal pre-conceptional irradiation of workers at a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant), the other involves electricity distribution (the alleged link between leukaemia and power cables). Judicial approaches to scientific uncertainty inherent in these two cases are examined. The more science points to a hitherto unimagined range of threats to human health, the fewer grounds remain for confidence in the capacity of tort to secure appropriate compensation for the putative victims.

Date: 2000
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1260/0958305001500013 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:engenv:v:11:y:2000:i:2:p:193-205

DOI: 10.1260/0958305001500013

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Energy & Environment
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().